In recent time economic growth has made some people richer in both developed and developing countries. While studies show that people in developing countries are happier now than before, people in developed countries are no happier than they were before. Why do you think this is and what lessons can be learned from it?
Sample Response
Money cannot guarantee people's happiness. Research suggestsIt is proved by experts that although economic growth has made people richer, people from developed countries feel less happy than they were before. In contrast, in developingpoor countries, wealth makesmake them happier. I will outline the reasonsreason why this phenomenon has occurredphenomenon happened.
In the case of developed countries, they are never starving. In the past, they could findcan found food readily availablemeal everywhere and were able to buy itable to bought it. Before technology developedadvanced, they already went to work such as farming or factory worksuch as farming or work in a factory. They had enough money to prevent them from starving. Another reason is the amount of time spent workingtime of working. They worked several hours and had time to restand have time to take a rest. Meanwhile, in recent yearsyear, they work overtimework overlap time hours. They have no time to pursue their interestsdo their interest or go on vacations with their family. It is because of competition among people. Their ambition encourages them to pursue their goals and achievementsgoal and achievement to enhancefor enhancing their status.
On the other hand, residents of developing countries feel happier than they were before because they previously lacked access to education and foodthey ever lived in a lack of education and food. In the past, it was really hard for them to buy some food and receive a formal educationstudied in formal education. But today, since they are richer than before, they can get both of these necessitiesboth of those terms. They can buy essential thingsan important stuff for their life. Another reason is they can manage their time working well, so they still have time to interact with other people.
In conclusion, I must say that what we can learn about two cases above is to love our life. It is true that we need to work and earn money for our life but it cannot be denied that we need to enjoy our life with our lovely people. So, we need to thanks for everything we have and we got.
Why this response received Band 5.5
The response addresses both contrasting situations and offers a relevant lesson about balancing work, money, and relationships, with a broadly logical progression between ideas. Its main limitation is that explanations are sometimes simplistic or unclear, while frequent grammatical and word-choice errors weaken precision. The highest priority is to develop each cause more specifically and express it through accurately formed sentences and natural collocations.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response answers both why the groups differ and what can be learned, but several relevant ideas remain general or only partly explained.
Develop each main cause with a clearer explanation of how it changes happiness and support it with a specific example.
Coherence and Cohesion
The four-paragraph structure and broad contrast create clear progression, although some connections within paragraphs are mechanical or imprecise.
Use clearer cause-and-effect links within each paragraph and avoid moving between claims before their relationship is fully established.
Lexical Resource
The vocabulary is sufficient to discuss wealth, work, competition, and basic needs, but frequent inaccurate collocations and word forms reduce precision.
Practise natural combinations such as working longer hours, pursuing achievements, meeting basic needs, and being grateful for what one has.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mixture of simple and complex structures is attempted, but frequent errors in tense, agreement, articles, and verb forms sometimes strain clarity.
Prioritise control of verb tense and form, subject-verb agreement, and sentence structure before adding further complexity.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
In recent time economic growth has made some people richer in both developed and developing countries. While studies show that people in developing countries are happier now than before, people in developed countries are no happier than they were before. Why do you think this is and what lessons can be learned from it?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.